A former flatmate of mine inspired a tradition of reading (and watching) a speech by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year is “What’s your life’s blueprint?”, which King delivered to students at Philadelphia’s Barratt Junior High School (!) on 26 October 1967. Here are a partial transcript and a full recording of the speech.

The following themes in the speech stand out to me.

Importance of self-worth. Interestingly, and perhaps indicatively, King lists as “number one” a “deep belief in your own dignity, your worth, and your own somebodiness”. This encouragement seems just as relevant today, to all people, as it was in 1967. Also interestingly, in the recorded speech King uses this point as a platform to call attention to and discredit the stigma attached to physical appearance, to attack skin-lightening cosmetics and hair-straightening processes. It is perhaps a measure of the partial social progress we’ve made that today, King’s line “I am black but beautiful” would likely by default use the conjunction “and” in place of “but”.

Power of education. Acknowledging the students’ “economic plight” and challenging living conditions, King exhorts them to “stay in school”. He adamantly believes in the power of education to improve one’s life, by preparing one to walk through the doors of opportunity that he saw beginning to open to more and more people.

Commitment to excellence. King comes across as a fatalist, with references to “discover[ing] what you will be” and “your lot” in life. Let’s leave this aside for now. King goes on to urge listeners to do not their best, not their people’s best, but the best job possible, to “do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it”. I’m not sure how to understand this call, in light of the tension between what one is currently doing; what one wants to do; and what circumstance and society permits one to do, at a particular moment in history. Full disclosure: My thinking on this point is further clouded by ideas in David Graeber’s book Bullshit jobs: A theory, which I recently began reading.

“Why quantum computers will be exponentially faster than digital computers“, by Singularity Hub Staff (Singularity Hub, 2017-09-18). A two-minute video giving a broad, fuzzy comparison of classical versus quantum computing. Helpfully, this short video does dispel the idea that quantum computers will do everything classical computers do, just faster; it points out that the algorithms run by the two types of computers matter very much in this comparison of speeds.

“The 5 years that changed dating“, by Ashley Fetters (The Atlantic, 2018-12-21). A look at how Tinder and other online dating apps have changed our perception and practice of relationships. I found this article inquisitive and well written.

“Never take a bad work day home again, using these 3 steps“, by Mary Halton (ideas.ted.com, 2019-01-07). Adam Fraser recommends creating a “third space” — a buffer zone between work and home — to take agency over how you show up at home. Use your third space to reflect, rest, and reset.

“It’s not you, it’s us“, by Barbara Patchen (stoked, 2018-08-03). We become like those around us — call it “emotional convergence”, “adapting for the relationship”, etc. To live meaningfully, the author suggests that we (1) routinely critically evaluate our routines; (2) intentionally adopt, point out, and discuss our roles; and (3) empathise!

For the record, I am inclined to agree with the president: A “negotiation” in which both sides show up already having made up their minds is a total waste of time. Unfortunately for the president, in this case, he is one of those sides. (Unfortunately for the writer of this blog, no one cares about this record.)